Armed man shot in Pompano Beach after reportedly attacking Broward deputy
FORT LAUDERDALE - Broward sheriff's deputies were forced to fire after an armed man reportedly attacked one of their own.
Tuesday night just before 11 p.m. the Broward Sheriff's Office got word of a crime in progress crime in the 600 block of Briny Avenue in Pompano Beach.
Deputies were sent to the area.
New surveillance tape obtained by CBS4's Peter D'Oench from a nearby business shows police activity at the scene just south of Atlantic Boulevard and shows deputies running on Britney Avenue near the beach.
According to a statement from the sheriff's office, "an armed adult male subject physically attacked a deputy. The subject displayed a firearm and deputies discharged their firearms."
The man was struck and deputies provided care until Pompano Beach Fire Rescue arrived. The man was taken to a hospital where he was listed in critical condition.
A man who lives nearby said he heard the gunfire.
"I heard probably like 15 to 20 (gunshots) it sounded like. There was a lot of shooting, it woke me up. And then my neighbor called wondering what's going on," said Mike Brown.
What was supposed to be a relaxing start to their beach vacation wasn't for Corey Scruggs and his fiancé who immediately got on the floor of their beach rental when they heard the gunfire.
"The sound was just so loud and clear definitely sounded like bullets spraying and I actually told my fiancé 'hey, let's stay low to the ground just in case'," said the tourist from Raleigh, North Carolina. "It sounded like fireworks but it was bullets spraying."
Trisha Rogge, a tourist from Illinois who was also staying in a beach rental, said, "Everyone thought it was fireworks. I heard several pops. It's definitely not something you expect when you are on vacation. You go on vacation to get away from this stuff and now this happens."
D'Oench also spoke with Jae Bennett, who says she is a friend of the man who was shot and said he is a 39-year-old boat mechanic. She said she is surprised by what happened.
She said, "I don't believe he would of out of his way to attack anyone or be in a situation that he didn't need to be in. He makes good money and there is no reason for him to be out committing any crimes. He has too much going for him. I do not believe for a moment he would attack anyone."
Detectives recovered the man's firearm.
BSO said internal affairs detectives were investigating what happened and The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is also investigating the shooting, which is standard procedure in such cases.
